Venema, 36, has been shopping for 25 Black Fridays — the day when merchants traditionally turn a profit for the year — and learned the strategic ins and outs from a master, his grandmother Catherine Groeneveld, who lived in Grandville.

“We would do breakfast as a family early before the trip out on Black Friday. After our trip, we would come back home for lunch at her house,” Venema said. “If we needed a snack, it was normally at Kmart in Jenison and would usually be popcorn and a slush from the deli while waiting for blue light specials.”

He introduced his wife, Amber, 32, to his holiday shopping tradition, and now they normally hit the malls and big-box stores for treasures. In recent years, they have shopped locally on Thanksgiving Day, then made the 95-mile trip to Birch Run Premium Outlets to get there by midnight — and leave to get back to Grand Rapids for more bargains by 5 a.m.

“There is nothing quite like the Black Friday experience of hunting for bargains and taking in the excitement of watching thousands of people run through the doors of a store for that one item they have waited hours to get,” Venema said. “We love the madness of it all.”

Typically, the couple puts a cooler full of beverages and leftovers in the car.

If they stop to eat, it’s generally at a “mom and pop” restaurant like the Peppermill Grill in Standale. If they visit the mall food court, Venema said, he generally stops at a pretzel shop.

“Last year, we had three meals out, since our adventures began locally and then led to Birch Run and back, for more than 35 hours of shopping and fun.” Venema said. “Since we race from place to place, we throw caution to the wind in our food choices in exchange for a great deal.”

Throwing caution to the wind may be detrimental to your diet, but it’s great for area restaurants.

“Last year we pretty much couldn’t keep up,” said U. Turan, owner of The Shish in Rivertown Crossing.

Turan arrived at work at 3 in the morning after Thanksgiving in 2010, opened at 5 a.m. and worked until 10 p.m. He plans to do the same this year.

“A lot of people waiting in lines at the stores sent a representative from their group to get French fries and simple appetizers, pop and bottles of water,” said Turan, who also owns Ada’s Zeytin restaurant. “It was an incredible day and night.”

Rob Garza, general manager at the Omelette Shoppe & Bakery at Breton Village, said business was brisk last year but he is expecting even more crowds with the recent opening of the Anthropologie store there. The $3.99 early bird specials, offered 7-9 a.m., are always a big draw.

“Black Friday is generally a lot busier day than normal,” Garza said. “But the holidays in general have been good to us.”

Arden Botello, 18, of Spring Lake, will be on the job Friday as a sales associate at American Eagle in The Lakes Mall. The college freshman had few worries about eating healthy — after a “pig out” on Thanksgiving dinner.

“Most of the time I bring my own lunch, it’s cheaper, and it gives me less chance to grab something unhealthy that I’m going to regret later on,” Botello said.

“But when I forget or just don’t have time, I love to grab a piece of pizza at Sbarro in the food court. It’s nice because I can always go back there later in my shift, and they will fill up my drink for me.”

Kayla DuShane, 24, of Grand Haven, said she has been shopping early for eight years, generally starting about 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving and getting home around noon on Friday.

“It’s become a tradition and, as odd as this may sound, I love the all the craziness that comes along with Black Friday shopping,” she said. “I enjoy talking with people while waiting in long lines and it makes for some great stories to tell friends and family later on.”

“Last year I don’t think I ate anything at all because I was stuffed from the night before,” DuShane said. “Years prior, when I went out with a friend, we would usually catch a coffee first thing in the morning if the lines weren’t too long.”

DuShane will probably be sticking with black coffee this year, however, since she is only a few weeks away from traveling to LaRomana, in the Dominican Republic, where she and her fiance, Joel Gronevelt, will be married.

“I am definitely going to try my darnedest to eat sensibly this holiday season with the upcoming wedding,” she said.